A thermoelectric conversion material that allows mutual conversion between heat energy and electric energy is used for a thermoelectric conversion element, such as a thermoelectric generation device and a Peltier device. In thermoelectric generation module applying the thermoelectric conversion material, such an advantage is obtained that heat energy can be directly converted into electric power, and that a movable part is not required, and thus the thermoelectric generation module is used for a power supply for a wrist watch operated by body temperature, a medical equipment, a power supply for remote districts which utilizes a wasted heat, a space power supply, or the like.
The thermoelectric generation module is often used by looping it around the curved surface, such as a pipe, an arm, a trunk of the body, and the like. It is therefore required that even if the thermoelectric generation module is inflected, a thermoelectric conversion layer follows the inflection, without being peeled-off from a base material of the thermoelectric generation module.
Patent Literatures 1 and 2 disclose that a thermoelectric element is disposed on an electrode. Patent Literature 3 discloses that, in accordance with a printing method, after forming a resin-made insulator having voids of 100 rows and 3 columns on a polyethylene terephthalate film support, a conductive layer is formed in each of the voids, and further a thermoelectric conversion layer (p-type semiconductor element and n-type semiconductor element) is formed.
In every case, the thermoelectric element (the thermoelectric conversion layer) is formed only on an electrode (a conductive layer).